Tag Archives: full

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Moonrise, Clouds, and Sandstone Towers

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Moonrise, Clouds, and Sandstone Towers - The full moon rises through thin clouds above sandstone towers, Arches National Park.
The full moon rises through thin clouds above sandstone towers, Arches National Park.

Moonrise, Clouds, and Sandstone Towers. Arches National Park, Utah. April 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The full moon rises through thin clouds above sandstone towers, Arches National Park.

This was a very challenging evening for photography, but I’m happy with some of the results nonetheless. We had gone into Arches National Park and made it to the first big group of arches and other formations not far from what I recall was identified as Balancing Rock. Not far from here there is an impressive amphitheater of red rock sandstone, and all through this area a truly astonishing number of arches of various forms and sizes may be found. Since it was late in the day, we figured we would stake out our ground for golden hour and dusk shots right around here.

However, there were a few challenges. First, we were arriving at this spot for the very first time, with no previous research, and it was basically time to start shooting right about now! There was little to no time for scouting, so I headed up a trail towards a likely looking area of sandstone to see what I could find as the sunset approached. I soon discovered a second issue, or perhaps realized that an issue I had known about was going to be more challenging than I had hoped – it was very windy! As the light dims this becomes more of a problem as exposures necessarily lengthen. At some point, there is virtually no tripod that is steady enough, even when weighted, to hold a camera and lens rock steady in a near gale. I have some tricks up my sleeve though, and eventually I searched out some camera positions that were sheltered by rock towers and walls. By this time, the sun had dropped below the horizon and I was now shooting it twilight, which can provide some of the most beautiful light of the day when the right sort of “glow” occurs. It turned out that the full moon was just rising, though not over the main, iconic formations. There is usually a narrow window of exposure opportunity for photographing the moon. The moon is hard to shoot effectively in full daylight, but after dark it is far too bright for the ambient light – so one ideal is to shoot it in this time right around dusk when there is just the right balance of moon light and ambient light. Lucky for me, high thin clouds moved across the sky to the east and moderated the brightness of the full moon, allowing me to continue shooting in darker conditions so that I could make this exposure of the moon rising above nearby sandstone formations.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary, Equipment, Ideas, Technique

Thoughts About ‘Backup Cameras’

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Recently I read a post in a photography forum in which a poster asked for advice concerning selection of a back-up camera body. If you do a lot of photography, eventually you will have gear fail on you. The last time this happened to me, my EOS 5D developed a shutter problem with no prior warning. In the middle of a night photography shoot the camera simply stopped working. I had no backup camera at that point, so my shoot was over – after driving nearly two hours to the location and making two exposures I packed up and drove two hours back home. If you shoot in remote locations, as I often do, or if you find yourself in other situations in which being unable to shoot isn’t an option, you need a backup camera strategy. (You might also want to consider how you would deal with a lens failure, too, though there are more ways to work around that possibility if you usually carry more than one lens.)

Rather than re-writing the whole thing, what follows is the text of my reply to that forum poster – with just a few contextual edits here and there. Note that I refer to Canon products, since that is what I use, but that equivalents from other manufacturers could replace those I mention.
(The original poster’s message/question is not included here, but he was essentially musing about whether to use an existing camera as a “backup” body, buy a second copy of one of his current cameras, or use some other strategy.)

I wrote, more or less…

This gets at what I regard as the primary question here: “What is the role of the back-up camera in the [your] shooting?”

The term “backup camera” can mean different things to different people. Continue reading Thoughts About ‘Backup Cameras’ →

Deals and Sales, Equipment

Canon EOS 5D Mark III 24-105mm Lens Kit Back in Stock at B&H

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I see that the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera Kit with Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens is back in stock at site-sponsor B&H Photo. The camera was recently announced, but initially was very hard to find – and then became virtually impossible to find while Canon was dealing with some inevitable first-batch issues. But it sounds like those issues have now been resolved, and the camera is again becoming available.

The 5D3 is in some ways very similar to the previous model, the 5D2. The MP count is only very slightly higher – and the small increase won’t have any practical effect on still photographs. Whether a full-frame DSLR has 21MP or 22MP, in the hands of a skillful photographer it will be capable of producing photographs that can be printed quite large. The 5D3 does build in the 5D2 and it offers real improvements – to mention two, the new camera has an upgraded auto-focus system and a significantly higher frame rate. Features like these expand the camera’s useful to encompass a wider range of photographic subjects and situations.

I use the 24-105mm f/4 L IS zoom that is include in this bundle. For most people looking for a first lens for this camera, the 24-105 is likely to be the best option. It provides excellent image quality, image-stabilization, and a usefully large focal-length range. For many types of photography it can be sufficient all by itself.

If you have been waiting for this Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera Kit, you may want to act quickly – B&H reports that the current stock is limited.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary

Announcements from Nikon and Canon

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Today Nikon announced two new 36+MP full frame DSLRs, the D800 and D800E, and Canon announced a long-awaited update to their EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L zoom. I’ve posted a bit more information in a new entry on the Deals page.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.